Naij.com spoke to rave of the moment Lil Kesh aka Baba Shoki, who talked about his meteoric rise from obscurity to hit songs and award nominations in less than a year. The rapper, who raps in Yoruba, is on Olamide’s label, YBNL. His major hits are Shoki, Gbese and Ladi featuring Phyno and Olamide.

You lost out on the Headies Awards in 2014, but are part of the nominees for the coveted Next Rated award among other categories this year, what are your chances of winning?

I leave my chances of winning the awards to those that will vote and God. Who knows I really can’t tell who is going to win but I definitely hope to win this time having put in a lot of work during the course of the year.

Since you entered the music industry, you’ve dropped one hit after another, which is your favourite and should fans expect more hits?

Basically, one of my favourite songs is still Lyrically. That was the song that brought me to YBNL and since then my story has changed. So it remains my favourite and breakthrough song. As for what fans should expect, I won’t let them down I promise. I will keep doing what I do, improve on it and be the best I can be. So many projects are in the works. We will strategically put them out as at when due.

Apart from your label’s headliner, Olamide, others are like peers to you, do you feel pressure or competition from the guys on your label?

No, Viktor, Chinko, Adekunle Gold and I are cool. Everyone is doing his thing and making sure we put our name and label out there. No competition, no pressure. Our styles are even different. Each person is unique that is what makes our label outstanding. We thank God for that.

Your lyrics have been criticized for being too vulgar, what’s your take on that? Any plans to switch up your style?

I don’t see anything vulgar in my lyrics and songs. I do them for the streets – fine. I give fans what they like and what sells,. These much criticized songs dominate airplay and are on everyone’s lips so it is just a way of connecting with my fans. As for switching style, watch out for my subsequent works.